1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system for manufacturing molded articles and for simultaneously engineering mold cavities. In particular this invention relates to a system comprising a casting device having interchangeable cassettes defining the mold cavities, and a machinery device for machining the mold cavities.
2. The Prior Art
According to the state of the art, the mold cavities of casting molds for injection or pressure molding are usually manufactured in machining stations that are located in the mold department of the foundry, or with a company specialized in mold construction. The machining stations are equipped with suitable drilling, turning milling, grinding and eroding tool systems, with which the mold cavities are manufactured and the surfaces of the mold cavities are machined. For clamping the casting molds in the machining stations of the mold construction facility, the machining stations are equipped with known clamping means. The cassettes must be clamped by the clamping means into each of the positions required for machining. To obtain correct and dimensionally accurate clamping, it is helpful if the mold cavities are present in uniformly designed cassettes. However, even if the cassettes are clamped in the correct position, the trade skill of the mold maker is nevertheless required to a high degree.
Such adaptation work is particularly time-consuming, with complicated cast pieces where the mold cavity has to be reworked several times after trial castings. If the cassettes are incorrectly clamped in the machining station, this may result in flawed machining that cannot be repaired.